A very warm and and unstable airmass was on place over Iowa on the evening of the 24th, and had been for several days.  The airmass was relatively capped with 700 mb temperatures around +12 C.  Surface temperatures warmed into the mid 90s in most areas with dew point readings in the mid to upper 70s.  The lifted index was around -6 C by the early evening hours.  There was a decent amount of CAPE with values running around 3000 J/kg, however with the cap in place it was difficult to realize the CAPE.  The freezing level was quite high, reported at 16,400 feet.  A cold front sagged southeast into the state during the day.  This front, in combination with a weak upper level system, was enough to generate vigorous convection over northern Iowa.  There were several reports of high winds, with numerous trees and power lines downed.  A microburst hit the Webster City Airport with a 70 MPH wind gust.  The microburst dropped dew points into the mid 50s, which lasted for several hours.  Reports of hail were spotty and generally in the three quarter inch diameter range.  Two storms were exceptionally strong and dropped 2 inch diameter hail.  One occurred west of Breda in Carroll County.  The second was in Crawford northeast of Deloit.  The hail lasted for about 20 minutes as the storm moved very slowly southwest, cutting a swath nearly two miles wide with the ground becoming white for a period of time.  This storm also produced a tornado northeast of Deloit.  The tornado touched down in a corn field and cut a swath across the field.

Hail in BREMER, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 18:35:00 to 24-JUL-05 18:35:00 (CST)
Location: WAVERLY MUNI ARPT
Magnitude: 0.75 
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Hail in BREMER, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 18:47:00 to 24-JUL-05 18:47:00 (CST)
Location: WAVERLY
Magnitude: 0.75 
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMILTON, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 17:38:00 to 24-JUL-05 17:38:00 (CST)
Location: WEBSTER CITY ARPT
Magnitude: 61 MG
Property damage: 2K
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Hail in CARROLL, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 17:26:00 to 24-JUL-05 17:26:00 (CST)
Location: BREDA
Magnitude: 2.00 
Property damage: 5K
Crop damage: 10K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Thunderstorm Wind in BREMER, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 19:30:00 to 24-JUL-05 19:30:00 (CST)
Location: WAVERLY
Magnitude: 61 EG
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Tornado in CRAWFORD, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 18:05:00 to 24-JUL-05 18:05:00 (CST)
Location: DELOIT
Tornado F-scale: F0
Property damage: 1K
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Tornado touched down in a corn field and cut a path across the field.

Thunderstorm Wind in BLACK HAWK, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 19:38:00 to 24-JUL-05 19:38:00 (CST)
Location: WATERLOO
Magnitude: 51 MG
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA

Hail in CRAWFORD, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 18:10:00 to 24-JUL-05 18:30:00 (CST)
Location: DELOIT
Magnitude: 2.00 
Property damage: 10K
Crop damage: 100K
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Hail in SAC, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 17:20:00 to 24-JUL-05 17:20:00 (CST)
Location: WALL LAKE
Magnitude: 0.75 
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Thunderstorm Wind in CRAWFORD, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 18:10:00 to 24-JUL-05 18:10:00 (CST)
Location: DELOIT
Magnitude: 61 EG
Property damage: 5K
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Hail in CARROLL, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 17:24:00 to 24-JUL-05 17:24:00 (CST)
Location: BREDA
Magnitude: 0.75 
Crop damage: 5K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Thunderstorm Wind in BLACK HAWK, IOWA
From 24-JUL-05 19:35:00 to 24-JUL-05 19:35:00 (CST)
Location: WATERLOO
Magnitude: 52 EG
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA